Renewing anything here in the Philippines is a pain. Whether it’s your passport, driver’s license, or car registration, most of us have come to expect long lines, fixers, uncomfortable waiting areas, and a host of other inconveniences. I was just processing my US visa renewal this week and you know what, more than half the process is done online — including submitting your photo. They even have the technology to confirm if your photo meets their requirements. I get to thinking hey if the US can do this, we can too… right?

I drive all the time, every single day. Traffic is horrible and it’s only getting worse. Going to any government agency here in Metro Manila is torture. More often than not, there’s no parking. And then there’s the yearly renewal of your car registration. You have no choice but to drive to the LTO because they need to do things like inspect, stencil, and smoke test your car. If you’re unlucky, their system will be offline and you need to either find a branch that’s online or go back another day. It’s such a hassle. But what if we can do our car registration online? If not completely online then at least partially. This can lighten the load on the LTO offices and perhaps allow registration to be completed in a timely manner.

Senator JV Ejercito actually filed a resolution urging the Dept. of Transportation to conduct a study with regards to the establishment and implementation of an online car registration process. I’ve attached the resolution in its entirety on this blog post.

I believe an online car registration system will make the yearly renewal process more efficient. Come on, do we really need to stencil the engine and chassis numbers year after year? There are no studies that prove this procedure deters carjacking. In fact, I think it encourages corruption. Most times they take forever to do this. When you don’t have time to spare, you’re tempted to slip them some grease money just so you can be done with it.

What about the emission test? I just have this to say. If the vehicle’s level of smoke belching goes beyond what’s acceptable, traffic enforcers can see this when they’re on the road and flag them. Penalties can be imposed. Licenses revoked. What about road worthiness? We have to trust that no driver wants to die in a car accident, thus it’s his/her responsibility to make sure the vehicle is safe to drive. Or if LTO officers must check on these things, car owners can maybe fill up forms and upload the OR/CR online so that there will be less things to do and wait for on site.

These days, I find myself doing more and more things online — banking, shopping, communicating, etc. The less I need to physically go anywhere, the less I’ll be contributing to the ever-growing traffic problem. I know online car registration can’t be done overnight but we have to start somewhere, don’t we?